Dec. 6, 2000

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University made a significant move to ensure the continued growth of its nationally-recognized women's volleyball program by signing Head Coach Jon Wallace to a contract extension, Director of Athletics Cheryl Levick announced today.

Wallace, this season's West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, signed a three-and-one-half year contract extension, assuring he will remain the head coach of the Santa Clara volleyball program through at least June, 2003. Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

"We are confident that Jon Wallace will continue to lead our women's volleyball program to national prominence," said Levick. "He is one of the brightest volleyball coaches in the country and he is extremely valuable to our long-term strategic plans. Our commitment to retaining and recruiting quality coaches, like Jon, is vitally important in our efforts to build a nationally-prominent athletics program."

Wallace led Santa Clara to a school-record setting 27 wins, the WCC championship and a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season. He directed senior Ynez Carrasco (Visalia, Calif.) to conference Player of the Year honors, while Becky Potter (Clovis, Calif.) was named the league's Freshman of the Year. In total, five Broncos were named to all-WCC teams. Santa Clara ended the regular-season ranked 17th in the nation and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm excited that the administration has the confidence in my ability to build a nationally-recognized program and recruit quality student-athletes to attend Santa Clara University," said Wallace, who reached the 35-win plateau in his career faster than any other coach in WCC history. "I am convinced that Santa Clara athletics is headed in a positive direction and I remain committed to building a volleyball program that this university can be proud of."

Wallace is a 1989 graduate of UC Santa Barbara, where he was a three-year starter and a second-team All-America selection for the Gaucho men's volleyball team. He earned his master's degree in education from Azusa Pacific in 1995 and served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine for seven seasons prior to his arrival to Santa Clara.